“The PC equivalent in robotics is the humanoid robot,” says Jeff Cardenas, co-founder and CEO, Apptronik, in his keynote speech, “Beyond the Assembly Lines: The Future of AI-Powered Humanoid Robots in Factories.” Cardenas believes humanoid robots are the next major platform and applications need to move from current technology robots (which need continuous programming and integration for one task) to next-generation robots that can be placed in any environment, mimic human tasks, and are a software update away from doing any new task or functionality. According to Cardenas, we are at a pivotal moment, akin to the early days of the personal computer in 1982. Just as the personal computer began its rapid evolution into a transformative force in daily life, we are now witnessing the emergence of humanoid robots – at the outset of a trend that is poised to soon permeate every aspect of our existence. That list of chores at home? Give it to your personal Astromech droid (just don’t call him C-3PO). Cardenas’ company recently fulfilled a dream to build a robot with the required architecture – and one that didn’t cost millions of dollars – with Apollo. This 5-ft. 8-in., 160-lb. industrial humanoid robot can run 22 hours per day using swappable batteries, and it was a major highlight of AMT’s Emerging Technology Center at IMTS 2024 (check out this video on IMTS.com/Apollo. “We are moving from single purpose robots that do one thing to general purpose robots that are programmed entirely new ways,” says Cardenas. “The robots are programmed by just telling them what to do or showing them what to do, and the robots can do vastly more things than traditional robotics could do as a whole.” Finding the right trade-off between cost and performance involved many iterations and technologies. While Apollo is designed for mass manufacturability, the next level will be affordability and functionality for doing thousands of tasks. Artificial intelligence (AI) is enabling the next stage of these robots, which Cardenas predicts will be highly visible over the next year. “You can take the data that you collect out of the real world, bring it into simulation, and you can explode that data set into simulation,” says Cardenas. Cardenas foresees sleeker humanoid robots that maintain the same shape as humans. “One of the most exciting and optimistic futures is to have a world that is built and optimized for humans where humans and robots are working side by side to take us into the future,” he says. To watch or listen to the entire presentation of “Beyond the Assembly Lines: The Future of AI-Powered Humanoid Robots in Factories” visit, IMTS.com/BeyondTheAssemblyLines on IMTS+. Explore more highlights and keynote presentations from IMTS 2024 on IMTS+.
Jeff Cardenas, CEO of Apptronik, says humanoid robots are the next major platform. Like early PCs, they’re set to transform life and work. Apollo runs all day, adapts via software, and AI-driven robots will soon perform thousands of tasks alongside humans.
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